Fox Sports "complained" to MLB, to "several Cubs
insiders and all but tied up a phone line to the team's [PR]
department to express its displeasure" over the team's
decision to switch P Kerry Wood's next start from Saturday,
an "MLB On Fox" game, where he would have faced Astros P
Randy Johnson, to Friday, according to Ron Rapoport of the
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. Cubs Dir of PR Sharon Pannozzo: "I got a
bunch of calls from various people at Fox. They said, 'We
spent millions of dollars promoting this matchup,' and I
said, 'Whose fault is that?' People were calling all day
saying they were from Fox and asking what the rotation is.
What did they think, that if they called enough times I was
going to change it?" An MLB source, on Fox: "I think they
would have liked to try to get us to try to change it. ...
But they realized there is nothing we could do or would do."
Cubs President Andy MacPhail: "I can understand why they
would want (the matchup), but certain things are in the
domain of the manager of the Cubs. He's doing what he
thinks is best." Larry Meyers, Fox Coordinating Producer
for MLB telecasts: "It's disappointing. We live for these
dream matchups, but we have no control over them." Asked if
Fox had asked the Cubs to reconsider their rotation, Meyers
said, "That's not something we have done or would do,
although some teams are aware of national television and
what games are on" (Ron Rapoport, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 8/20).
